The workplace has become the central institution in American society. A
higher proportion of the population than ever before is in the workplace,
as women have taken jobs to support their families as principal
breadwinners or as part of dual-earner households. Workplaces reflect the
racial and ethnic diversity of the population more than any other
institution. The workplace distributes earned income to most of the
population. In contrast with many other advanced countries, where the
state provides benefits for citizens paid from general taxation, the U.S.
relies on private decision-making in the workplace to furnish a disparate
range of benefits, most notably health insurance and vacations with pay.
The U.S. also places on the workplace the obligation to provide an
increasing list of individual rights enforceable in the courts. Americans
spend more time at the workplace than the citizens of any other advanced
country, save for Japan. Far more Americans work than vote.

Some federal interventions have been designed, as in the case of
statutes dealing with discrimination and harassment, to change the mores
or customs prevailing in many workplaces apart from providing redress to
affected individuals. One of the earliest pieces of New Deal era
legislation was the Wagner Act (modified by 1947 and 1959 statutes) that
sought to assure workers the right to choose freely whether or not to join
a union and to encourage the practice of collective bargaining over terms
and conditions of employment. The procedures were designed to ascertain
whether or not workers wanted democratically chosen representation at the
workplace. It is to be observed that the labor movement often provided the
impetus and political support for many of the workplace entitlements
enacted by regulatory legislation for all workers. In recent years civil
rights groups, women's groups, and religious groups have also played a
role in expanding the protection provided for workers. At their volition
or through collective bargaining, companies have also introduced numerous
policies designed to improve worker well-being as well as to raise
workplace efficiency. For instance, most large firms now have employee
assistance programs to help employees with alcohol, drug, mental health or
other problems.

We now turn our attention to the changes in public policy and private
practice that are needed if we are to achieve the goals for the workplace
of the 21st century.